Dallas County Criminal District Attorney John Creuzot proudly announces the first Dallas County murder conviction utilizing Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) to identify a suspect.
Liborio Canales, aged 86, has pleaded guilty to the murder of Barbara Carr Villarreal and has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, nearly 38 years after the crime occurred.
"Investigative Genetic Genealogy is no longer the future of solving violent crimes, it is very much the present. In Dallas, we continue to be a national leader using IGG," stated Dallas County Criminal District Attorney John Creuzot.
Lead Prosecutor Leighton D’Antoni added, "When you are able to develop a tried-and-true formula that brings repeated success solving unsolvable cases, you just don’t want to stop. You want to spread this amazing investigative technique to the whole world. Thanks to the continued support provided to the Dallas County DA’S Office from the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI), we are doing just that for the people of Dallas and will continue for decades to come."
The crime took place on November 7, 1986, when Barbara Carr Villarreal was stabbed to death in her Garland home. For nearly 40 years, the case remained unsolved until advancements in technology allowed for new testing to be conducted on blood collected at the scene. Through IGG, the blood collected in 1986 was matched to the DNA of the victim’s brother-in-law, Liborio Canales. Canales was apprehended in Lovington, New Mexico, in July of 2023.
During Canales’ sentencing, Barbara’s sister-in-law Jennifer Dunderman expressed gratitude to the Garland Police detectives who "never stopped looking for the person that so violently took Barb," and the Dallas County DA’s Office for ensuring their "93-year-old mother will never again have to worry about who killed her daughter." Dunderman also addressed Canales directly, stating, "The life you lived should be considered a gift. You didn’t just kill Barb; you killed a little piece of everyone she knew."
Acknowledgments were extended to the various agencies involved in the investigation, including the FBI Dallas Violent Crime Task Force, the Garland Police Department, and the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office SAKI Cold Case Team. Special appreciation was expressed to lead prosecutor D’Antoni, Investigator Jon Wakefield, and Victim Advocates Roquel Mahorn and Mackenzie Kile.
"What really stands out to me about this investigation was the never give up attitude by everyone involved over the past four decades. Starting with the dedicated members of the Garland Police Department in the 1980s to working these last few years hand in hand with the FBI, no one gave up seeking the truth in this horrific murder," ADA D’Antoni said. "Leads were exhausted, and there were plenty of roadblocks, but ultimately we brought Barbara and her family the justice they have waited so long for."
